The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 19 Men's Tennis preview: Oklahoma State (Big 12 Championship)
04.24.2013 | Men's Tennis
April 24, 2013
2013 Big 12 Men's Tennis Championship
Friday, April 26 -- Sunday, April 28
Norman, Okla. - Headington Family Tennis Center
Live Scoring: SoonerSports.com
Twitter: @TexasMTN
Big 12 Championship Bracket 
Match Notes
Quarterfinal: Texas vs. Oklahoma State -Friday, 12 p.m. CT
Series vs. Oklahoma State
- Texas leads the all-time series with Oklahoma State, 23-3.
- The Longhorns have won six consecutive matches against the Cowboys dating back to the 2008 season.
- On April 7 this season, Texas swept Oklahoma State, 7-0, in Stillwater, Okla.
- Texas and OSU have met three times in the Big 12 Championship, with UT hold a 2-1 advantage. In the last postseason meeting, Texas defeated OSU 4-1 in Kansas City, Mo.
- The winner of Friday's match faces host Oklahoma in the semifinals on Saturday at noon.
Texas in the Big 12 Championship
- Texas has reached the finals of the Big 12 Championship on seven occasions, including five of the last seven Big 12 postseason tournaments.
- The Longhorns claimed the tournament titles in 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2010.
- Last season, Texas lost to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship in College Station, Texas.
- Texas has an all-time record of 22-12 in the Big 12 Championship.
Texas enters postseason ranked 19th
- UT remained at No. 19 in the latest ITA Rankings, released on Tuesday.
- The Longhorns have been ranked in the top-25 for the entire season (14 consecutive polls). UT's highest ranking of the season was No. 14 during the week of March 12.
- Texas has four ranked singles players (#38 Søren Hess-Olesen, #89 Daniel Whitehead, #108 Lloyd Glasspool, #118 Sudanwa Sitaram) and two ranked doubles teams (#33 Chris Camillone / David Holiner, #72 Sudanwa Sitaram / Daniel Whitehead).
- Texas has been featured in the top-30 of the ITA men's tennis team rankings in 122 consecutive polls. This streak dates back to the 2006 preseason poll, when the Horns were ranked 22nd. Texas peaked at No. 2 in the first three polls of the 2009 season.
Glasspool wins Big 12 title at No. 2 singles
- Sophomore Lloyd Glasspool went 4-1 during Big 12 regular season play to capture the Big 12 title at No. 2 singles.
- The Birmingham, England native finished the regular season with four consecutive singles wins, including three against nationally ranked opponents. He boasts a team-high 15 wins during dual match play and an overall record of 23-7 this season.
- Glasspool entered the ITA singles rankings for the first time of his career on Tuesday, debuting at No. 108. He has a total of four wins against nationally ranked opponents this season.
- Glasspool is the fifth Longhorn to win the Big 12 title at No. 2 singles and first since Ed Corrie did so in 2010.
- The Longhorns have had 13 singles regular season champions in the last eight seasons and at least one in each of the last four years. Last season, Sudanwa Sitaram earned the Big 12 title at No. 3 singles.
Daniel Whitehead: Mr. Clutch
- Senior Daniel Whitehead has five match-clinching singles victories this season (Tulsa, Texas A&M-CC, Michigan, Rice and TCU), including three matches that came down to his court alone to decide the match.
- Whitehead has six wins against nationally ranked opponents this season.
- He enters postseason play with a 21-15 overall record and a 12-7 record during the dual match season.
- Whitehead ranks 23rd in Texas history with 84 career singles wins.
Hess-Olesen rising
- Sophomore Søren Hess-Olesen is UT's highest ranked singles player, entering the postseason No. 38 in the nation with a 15-10 overall record and 9-9 record in dual play.
- Hess-Olesen has been nationally ranked in singles since Feb. 16, 2012 -- 18 consecutive polls.
- Hess-Olesen enters postseason play with victories in five of his last seven singles matches, including a straight-set win over No. 92 Nick Chappell (TCU) on April 13.
- The Aarhus, Denmark native holds a 4-8 record against nationally ranked opponents this season.
- Hess-Olesen has played No. 1 singles for Texas since the start of his freshman season.
- His twin brother, Esben Hess-Olesen of North Carolina, is ranked No. 43 in singles.
Sitaram offers solid contributions
- Junior Sudanwa Sitaram went on a seven-match winning streak during dual play this season, a streak that included a win against No. 12 Mac Styslinger (Virginia) on March 15.
- Sitaram, currently ranked No. 118 in singles, enters postseason play with a 19-17 overall record and 11-10 record during dual match play. He ended the season with a 7-2 record in singles play at home.
Doubles lineups
- Texas has used 28 different doubles combinations this season and 19 during the dual match season. It is the most doubles lineups coach Center has used during his 13 years at Texas.
Top opposition
- UT has five wins against teams currently ranked top-35 of the ITA poll (No. 17 South Carolina, No. 25 Tulsa, No. 23 Michigan, No. 33 Washington and No. 35 TCU).
- Six of Texas' seven losses this season have come against top-15 opponents at the time of the match.
ITA Texas Region success
- Texas is 6-1 against teams from the ITA Texas Region this season.
- The Longhorns feature wins over TCU, Rice, Texas Tech and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Six Longhorns earn Academic All-Big 12 honors
- Six University of Texas student-athletes were named to the 2013 Men's Tennis Academic All-Big 12 Teams (announced on April 23, 2013).
- First team honorees include senior Chris Camillone, senior Ben Chen, sophomore Søren Hess-Olesen, senior Alex Hilliard and junior Sudanwa Sitaram. Senior Daniel Whitehead was named to the second team.
- Camillone, Hilliard and Whitehead are now three-time honorees. Camillone has been honored as a first team member the past three years. Hilliard and Whitehead were recognized on the first team in 2012 and earned second team recognition in 2011.
- A total of 19 Big 12 men's tennis student-athletes earned first team recognition.
- First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
Head Coach Michael Center mini bio
- Center is in his 13th season at Texas (259-94 record) and 22nd season overall as a tennis head coach (418-162 record).
- Earned his 250th win at UT against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 21, 2013.
- Center has guided Texas to three final fours (2006, 2008, 2009).
- USPTA National Coach of the Year (2007); Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year (2002, 2006, 2010); ITA Regional Coach of the Year (2006, 2010)
- Former head coach at his alma mater Kansas (1989-92) and TCU (1998-2000).
Looking ahead to NCAAs
- Texas has made 21 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, including six Final Four appearances in 1955, 1957, 1993, 2006, 2008 and 2009. The Longhorns are six-time Big 12 Champions (1997, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2010).
